General Douglas MacArthur

The Republican Party has a very interesting history when it comes to corruption on the national level, and to the issue of Presidential impeachment.

The “self righteous” party, which tries to convince us that they are “holier than thou”, when it comes to corruption and scandal, has been responsible for the four most corrupt Presidencies in American history, and arguably, the fifth most corrupt Presidency as well!

At the same time, it is the Republican Party, in the 19th, 20th, and now the 21st century, that has constantly pursued the idea of Presidential impeachment as a weapon against Presidents of the Democratic Party!

Witness the following:

The Presidency of Richard Nixon, along with that of Ulysses S. Grant, Warren G. Harding, and Ronald Reagan saw widespread corruption on a regular basis, and these are the four Presidents to have been in charge of the worst examples of corruption in American history, bar none!

Nixon is remembered for the Watergate scandal, but there is much more than that to be recognized as corruption.

Grant is remembered for the Credit Mobilier scandal, but there is much more than that to be recognized as corruption.

Harding is remembered for the Teapot Dome scandal, but there is much more than that to be recognized as corruption.

Reagan is remembered for the Iran-Contra scandal, but there is much more than that to be recognized as corruption.

And, by the way, George W. Bush is remembered for numerous scandals and malfeasance, much of it still hidden, but to be uncovered as time goes by, and once the junior Bush leaves us, when documents become much more available.

There is no one among Democrats who can match these five GOP Presidents in corruption, although many make out Bill Clinton and his personal demons as a scandal on the same level. But most of the so called other “scandals” under Clinton are conjured up, are manufactured, just as with Barack Obama and his so called, but not real “scandals” over Benghazi, the IRS, and other controversies which are not indeed “scandals”, but instead part of the plan to undermine him, as was done with Bill Clinton.

Sure, there were personal scandals under John F. Kennedy, and rumors of scandals under Lyndon B. Johnson, and minor scandals under Harry Truman, and accusations of scandals under Jimmy Carter, but none ever worked out to be on the level of scandals under Nixon, Grant, Harding, Reagan and the second Bush! And only Nixon was a justifiable case to bring impeachment charges, as he actually abused the Constitution and the Presidential office, and was, rightfully, in process of being removed from office, had he not resigned in 1974!

Meanwhile, the Republican Party historically has worked to promote impeachment of Democratic Presidents on a regular basis, and have brought unsubstantiated and unjustifiable charges against:

Andrew Johnson in 1868 over attempt to remove Secretary of War Edwin Stanton

Bill Clinton in 1998-1999 on his personal life scandals

Also, they have promoted impeachment threats or attempted moves to remove:

Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934-1935 over the New Deal
Harry Truman in 1951 over the firing of General Douglas MacArthur
Jimmy Carter in general, working to undermine everything he promoted

So the so called party of enforcing the law and the Constitution has been involved in a systematic attempt to promote the cause of big business corporations and personal power grabbing while moving to undermine most of our Democratic Presidents in the past century and a half!

Part of this is also the attempt, constantly, to besmirch the record in office of Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Truman, JFK, LBJ, Carter, Clinton and now Obama! Conspiracy theories have been rife in the Republican mind!

Realize that since Abraham Lincoln’s election, our first Republican President, there was constant deterioration after, until Theodore Roosevelt still upheld the good image of the GOP overall. But then there was rapid decline after, with a temporary revival under Dwight D. Eisenhower, and then constant decline after, with a smidgen of decency and class under Gerald Ford, and then much more rapid deterioration up to now. The GOP wishes to be regarded with respect, when it does not deserve it, based on the historical realities!

Also, realize that since 1861 to 2017, a total of 156 years, from Lincoln to Obama leaving office, we have had 18 GOP Presidents from Lincoln to Bush II and only 10 Democratic Presidents from Andrew Johnson to Obama. Republicans have held the White House for 88 years and Democrats for 68 years!

So the historical reality of the Republican Party being the party of corruption and lawlessness, and yet having the gall to threaten three Democratic Presidents with impeachment, two Democratic Presidents with actual impeachment, and on the road to impeaching Barack Obama on flimsy charges, speaks legions as to their lack of ethics and morality!

As if President Obama did not have enough to deal with on a daily basis, now General Stanley McChrystal, in charge of the war in Afghanistan, has created new problems for him! 🙁

McChrystal, long rumored to lack basic diplomatic skills, was stupid enough to vent his frustrations with officials in the government in an interview about to be published in Rolling Stone Magazine!

Just the fact that McChrystal would lack the intelligence and common sense to avoid making public criticisms of the President, the Vice President, the US Ambassador to Afghanistan, the National Security Adviser, and the Special Representative to Afghanistan, is enough reason to fire him immediately as the military leader in the Afghan War! 🙁

No general is indispensable, and in the past, when generals have defied the President in wartime or peacetime with their lack of respect for the Commander in Chief, they have been summarily dismissed!

The most famous case is General Douglas MacArthur and President Harry Truman during the Korean War. But also, General George McClellan was dismissed by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Also, generals were dismissed for lack of respect and decorum by Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, and even President George W. Bush dismissed generals who were not “part of the team” in their privately expressed thoughts on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan!

No President can tolerate disloyalty in the military, which if they engage in “politics”, giving ammunition to the critics of the President and his administration, make the burden of the Presidency all the greater!

No matter what McChrystal says in his upcoming Oval Office meeting before Obama and his top military and civilian advisers, he has lost the confidence of the top leadership, simply by his poor judgment!

If he has any decency left, he should resign and retire immediately, but if he lacks the courage and guts to do what is appropriate, then Obama MUST fire him with a severe reprimand statement! 🙁

And the fact that conservatives and Republicans will back McChrystal, and be emboldened by his defiance and arrogance, is no reason for the President to back down! This is a moment to show the critics that he will not tolerate disloyalty, as indeed no President should have to face!

Obama is the Commander in Chief whether Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, Ann Coulter and other right wingers wants to acknowledge it! Whether Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, John McCain and others support McChrystal is of no importance, as it would only reflect badly on them! 🙁

President Obama, show everyone, including the critics, who is in charge, and to hell with any criticism! You are in the right historically, in good company with Truman, Lincoln and others! Our Constitution provides for civilian control of the military, and god forbid anything else were to be reality! 🙁